He was just so completely out of her league, she thought forlornly, that she literally felt obnoxious for merely considering the idea she could be different from all the other women.
But…
But…
But…
What about what Harry had said?
He had never appeared sad to her, not even the tiniest bit.
And it all boiled down to why that was so, Tilly realized.
If she had been the hopelessly romantic type, she might have thought this meant he was falling in love with her. But since she was not, and she had always considered herself as an optimistic realist…
Maybe it was something else…like lust?
Tilly nearly jerked in her seat at the thought.
Could that be why the billionaire insisted on keeping her as his wife, even if he could afford to pick one a thousand times more suitable?
She tried to imagine how things would turn out if she asked him outright about this and had no trouble conjuring the outcome: an automatic denial, regardless of whether it was true or not, because any kind of attachment was to be considered a weakness.
And she couldn’t exactly blame him for thinking that way, considering how his parents’ marriage had ended in a tragic mix of infidelity and death.
The only way to get the truth out of him was to catch him off guard, Tilly concluded with a silent gulp. She had to create some kind of scenario or situation, something that would force him to betray himself—
A mad rush of adrenaline, brought about by a combination of anxiety and stubborn determination, had Tilly throwing caution to the wind.
Carpe diem, Wakefield!
And so the moment the billionaire finished his call and turned to her, she didn’t even let herself think. She simply acted, her legs opening wide under her dress, wider and wider that she was sure the billionaire could see all the way to her deeply mortified soul.
“What the—”
The billionaire audibly sucked in his breath.
And that was when she saw it.
The instant flare of hunger in his eyes. The sudden stiffening of his powerfully muscular body. And most of all, the immediate, unmistakable bulge under his pants.
OH MY GOD.
The unthinkable was real. By some strange design of fate or the divine, or maybe it was even both, considering how incredible it was that Logan Hardwall, SAFE’s last billionaire bachelor and the man whom every cowgirl wanted to lasso into marriage – oh, how could this be?
How could such a man like him be sexually obsessed with a girl like her?
But on the other hand…
She had never been the type to look at a gift horse in the mouth, so why start now?
Chapter 8
Blood rushed all the way up to Logan’s head as he struggled to make sense of what he was seeing. Most beautiful pussy he had laid his eyes on? Yeah, that was a given. But the question he was finding impossible to answer was why.
One moment, she had her legs locked more tightly than any chastity belt and visibly making an effort not to show anything that would’ve warranted censorship on national TV. And then the next moment, she had just opened her legs without warning, and he was immediately transported to nirvana.
Even with the few feet that separated them, Logan had no trouble discerning the silky wetness of her folds and the faint trembling of her legs.
So fucking hot.
And he could no longer hold himself back.
Tilly jumped in surprise when the billionaire slammed a hand down on one of the side controls, and a moment later, a privacy panel slid into place, effectively hiding them from the chauffeur’s view.
Their gazes clashed, a dangerous glitter in his eyes, but she didn’t let herself look away.
Logan strove for control as she remained still and silent in front of him, with her beautiful legs still damn open. “Don’t play games with me, Tilly,” he said harshly.
“I’m not.” Tilly awkwardly and self-consciously snapped her legs closed upon realizing that the billionaire was more hell-bent on finding answers than pouncing on her.
“Then what’s this about?” he demanded.
“I just wanted…” She swallowed hard. “I wanted to know how much you want me. I needed to see if you wanted me enough,” Tilly reluctantly admitted, “to still keep me as your wife, regardless of how unsuitable—”
“We’ve gone over this already,” Logan bit out impatiently. “You’re not unsuitable—”
“Yes, I am—” But seeing that the billionaire was more than willing to argue the point, she hastened to forestall him, saying assuringly, “But it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It…doesn’t?” Logan was beginning to feel a bit of mental whiplash, with how she was jumping from one topic to another.
Tilly shook her head. “I know you don’t have any reason to believe me, but when I applied to Heart’s Match, I really was hoping for a marriage that wouldn’t just be a business transaction. I know it’s old-fashioned of me, but marrying for money, even if it meant saving my sister’s life…” A grimace touched her mouth, and she ended stiltedly, “It would’ve been hard for me to swallow, just that.”